Inflatable child safety seat

ABSTRACT

Provided is an inflatable child safety seat. In one embodiment the child safety seat is filled with inflatable foam and includes a seat, a backrest integrally formed with the seat and having a through hole, a safety belt passed the through hole to dispose on the seat, two arm pads, two side protections provided at both sides of the backrest and integrally formed with the arm pads, an enclosure for enclosing the seat, the backrest, the arm pads, and the side protections, and a valve provided on an underside of the seat. Opening the valve to exit air in the enclosure will enable a collapsing of the enclosure. Unfolding and pumping air into the child safety seat via the valve will inflate the child safety seat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to child safety seats and more particularly to an inflatable child safety seat with improved characteristics.

2. Related Art

Many countries have laws requiring a child to sit in a child safety seat while driving. Thus, a wide variety of child safety seats (e.g., infant seats, toddler convertible seats, and booster seats) are commercially available. However, prior child safety seats typically are fixed in shape. Hence, its use and storage are not convenient. Thus, a need for an inflatable child safety seat exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a child safety seat filled with inflatable foam comprising a seat; a backrest integrally formed with the seat and having a through hole; a safety belt passed the through hole to dispose on the seat; two arm pads; two side protections provided at both sides of the backrest and integrally formed with the arm pads; an enclosure for enclosing the seat, the backrest, the arm pads, and the side protections; and a valve provided on the seat; whereby opening the valve to exit air in the enclosure will enable a collapsing of the enclosure; and unfolding and pumping air into the child safety seat via the valve will inflate the child safety seat.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a child safety seat filled with inflatable foam comprising a seat; a backrest integrally formed with the seat and having a through hole; a safety belt passed the through hole to dispose on the seat; two arm pads; two side protections provided at both sides of the backrest and integrally formed with the arm pads; a first enclosure for enclosing the seat and the backrest; two second enclosures each for enclosing the arm pad and the side protection at either side; a first valve provided on the seat; and two second valves each provided on either side protection; whereby opening the valves to exit air in the first and the second enclosures will enable a collapsing of the first and the second enclosures; and unfolding and pumping air into the child safety seat via the first and the second valves will inflate the child safety seat.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a child safety seat filled with inflatable foam comprising a seat; a backrest integrally formed with the seat and including a through hole and a plurality of foam units; a safety belt passed the through hole to dispose on the seat; two arm pads; two side protections provided at both sides of the backrest and integrally formed with the arm pads; a first enclosure for enclosing the seat; a plurality of second enclosures each for enclosing the foam unit; two third enclosures each for enclosing the arm pad and the side protection at either side; a first valve provided on the seat; a plurality of second valves each provided on the foam unit; and two third valves each provided on either side protection; whereby opening the first, the second, and the third valves to exit air in the first, the second, and the third enclosures will enable a collapsing of the first, the second, and the third enclosures; and unfolding and pumping air into the child safety seat via the first, the second, and the third valves will inflate the child safety seat.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inflatable child safety seat according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1 showing seat section and side protection sections of the seat according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 where seat section and side protection sections are constructed in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of inflatable child safety seat according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 where seat section and side protection sections are constructed in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of inflatable child safety seat according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, an inflatable child safety seat in accordance with the invention comprises a seat section 10 including a backrest 11 having a through hole 111 for permitting a safety belt 30 to pass through to tie a child seated on the seat section 10, and a seat member 12; two side protection sections 20 each including an arm pad 21 and a side protection 22 integrally formed with the arm pad 21; an enclosure 40 for enclosing inflatable foam 50; and a valve 60 provided on an underside of the seat member 12. For storage, a user may open the valve 60 to exit air in the inflatable child safety seat prior to collapsing same. In use, a user may first unfold the inflatable child safety seat and the inflatable child safety seat then is adapted to automatically expand to a form similar to its inflated one due to resilience of the foam 50. Next, inflate the inflatable child safety seat by pumping air thereinto via the valve 60 until the inflatable child safety seat has the original predetermined shape.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1 showing the seat section 10 and the side protection sections 20 of the inflatable child safety seat according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention. It is seen that the seat section 10 and the side protection sections 20 are formed integrally. That is, each of the foam 50 and the enclosure 40 is an integral unit.

Referring to FIG. 3, it shows the seat section 10 and the side protection sections 20 of the inflatable child safety seat according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention. It is seen that the seat section 10 and the side protection sections 20 are formed separately and each of the seat section 10 and the side protection sections 20 has its own valve. That is, the foam 50 in the seat section 10 is enclosed by one large enclosure 40 and each of the side protection sections 20 is enclosed by one small enclosure 40. A joining portion 13 of the seat section 10 and either side protection section 20 may be implemented as stitches or Velcro fastener.

Referring to FIG. 5, it shows the seat section and the side protection sections of the inflatable child safety seat according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention. The third preferred embodiment substantially has same structure as the second preferred embodiment. The characteristics of the third preferred embodiment are detailed below. The foam in the seat section 10 comprises a plurality of independent foam units 70. Each foam unit 70 is enclosed by an enclosure and has a valve (not shown). As such, in use a user may inflate some or all foam units 70 in order to fit different children with various heights and weights. Similarly, a joining portion of two adjacent foam units 70 or a joining portion of one foam unit 70 and either side protection section 20 may be implemented as stitches or Velcro fastener.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims. 

1. A child safety seat filled with inflatable foam comprising: a seat; a backrest integrally formed with the seat and having a through hole; a safety belt passed the through hole to dispose on the seat; two arm pads; two side protections provided at both sides of the backrest and integrally formed with the arm pads; an enclosure for enclosing the seat, the backrest, the arm pads, and the side protections; and a valve provided on the seat; whereby opening the valve to exit air in the enclosure will enable a collapsing of the enclosure; and unfolding and pumping air into the child safety seat via the valve will inflate the child safety seat.
 2. A child safety seat filled with inflatable foam comprising: a seat; a backrest integrally formed with the seat and having a through hole; a safety belt passed the through hole to dispose on the seat; two arm pads; two side protections provided at both sides of the backrest and integrally formed with the arm pads; a first enclosure for enclosing the seat and the backrest; two second enclosures each for enclosing the arm pad and the side protection at either side; a first valve provided on the seat; and two second valves each provided on either side protection; whereby opening the valves to exit air in the first and the second enclosures will enable a collapsing of the first and the second enclosures; and unfolding and pumping air into the child safety seat via the first and the second valves will inflate the child safety seat.
 3. A child safety seat filled with inflatable foam comprising: a seat; a backrest integrally formed with the seat and including a through hole and a plurality of foam units; a safety belt passed the through hole to dispose on the seat; two arm pads; two side protections provided at both sides of the backrest and integrally formed with the arm pads; a first enclosure for enclosing the seat; a plurality of second enclosures each for enclosing the foam unit; two third enclosures each for enclosing the arm pad and the side protection at either side; a first valve provided on the seat; a plurality of second valves each provided on the foam unit; and two third valves each provided on either side protection; whereby opening the first, the second, and the third valves to exit air in the first, the second, and the third enclosures will enable a collapsing of the first, the second, and the third enclosures; and unfolding and pumping air into the child safety seat via the first, the second, and the third valves will inflate the child safety seat. 